Guess when the Villa's Old Man will fall

A mini replica of the Old Man of the Mountain hangs on the front lawn of the Villa Augustina School as part of its winter fundraiser. (Courtesy)

GOFFSTOWN - The Villa Augustina School is getting some help from New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain to assist with its winter fundraiser.

A mini replica of the state's popular icon that fell in 2003 is currently mounted in a snow bank on the school's front lawn, and one lucky winner who guesses what day it falls will win half of the funds collected for the raffle.

The other half will go to the school's scholarship fund, said Rob Schaefer, chair of the Villa Future Board.

"It's just a lighthearted way to raise funds and have some fun with it," he said.

According to Schaefer, the idea was born last year, with then-student Jack Aldana-Proulx making the replica of the Old Man out of foam board.

"The problem was, there was very little snow last year," said Schaefer.

The idea was brought up again this year, and for a while, it looked as if snow totals would not cooperate, but the recent blizzard dumped two feet of snow in the area, making the giant snowbank possible.

Similar to the original Old Man of the Mountain, this one needed a few reinforcements, Schaefer said.

"Like the original, it was struggling a bit," he chuckled, with winds last weekend causing power outages to nearly 1,000 Goffstown residents and nearly pulling the structure from its backing before the fundraiser could get off the ground.

Once it received some minor repairs to strengthen it, the sculpture was ready to go.

Schaefer said the money raised will go toward offsetting tuition fees for students.

According to figures provided by the school, annual tuition at the Villa is $6,000 for preschool, $5,480 for elementary students and $5,580 for junior high school students.

Tickets for the fundraiser are available for $5 each, or 5 for $20, and are available until March 2. The contest is open to those 18 and older. For more information, log on to villaaugustina.org.